


Assimilation

by Lycaeus



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Corporate, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Eren Yeager-centric, M/M, Slice of Life, Urban Fantasy, Werecats, werecat!levi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-23
Updated: 2015-02-21
Packaged: 2018-02-26 17:05:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2659760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lycaeus/pseuds/Lycaeus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren, a new grad, lands a job at a large firm in finance underneath the crude and intimidating boss new rumors crop up about every week. Eren gains some fame when he doesn't quit or transfer, and all goes well until he notices his boss, Levi, has timely routine absences every month. Eren's obsession with discovering the cause of these absences lands him straight into Levi's unique secret.  On the other end of things, Eren has to deal with Armin and Mikasa wary of his newfound crush on his strange boss.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First and foremost, although this is my first published Shingeki no Kyojin work, this is my second written one (the first remains unfinished after I became stuck).
> 
> This idea just became stuck in my head and so here it's being written. I actually had a lot of trouble with characterizations of Eren and Levi in a modern, non-Titan setting. I hope this turns out alright.
> 
> Basically it combines a corporate, office setting and my love for urban fantasy. I hope you enjoy.
> 
> And happy NaNoWriMo!

Eren pressed his back to the rough bark of the tree. What was he doing here? Following his boss to a deserted secluded area... He could be fired for intruding on his boss' private life. Or worse, arrested for stalking.

He struggled to keep his breathing low lest his query hear. Oh he was so fired if Levi found out.

Levi was notorious for his perfectionism in the workplace, and new hires avoided him like the plague. Rumors piled on top of rumors until it was talk of the whole firm that Levi was an axe murderer with decapitated heads in his freezer. Of course, none of that was true, and Eren just found him to be lacking in interpersonal skills and extremely hard to please. Levi's overly blunt honesty and free use of profanity made fresh meat quiver and quit or transfer. But Eren saw it as a challenge and sought Levi's blunt criticism as a way of bettering his ways.

And somehow Eren's newfound obsession with pleasing his boss became a bit warped towards knowing about his boss' strange routine absences. And now he was in the middle of a secluded forest hiding from Levi's line of sight. If those rumors of Levi being an axe murderer were at least the tiniest bit true, oh Eren was so fucked.

But as with all great stories, there's a reason he landed in this mess.

\---------------

Eren had struggled in university to find his calling.

His adopted sister Mikasa was a natural born athlete and had natural smarts. Combining the two, she was majoring in kinesiology to work in sports medicine. She still had the time to stay in shape and was definitely the fittest person Eren knew.

Eren's best friend Armin had majored in history, and with his natural talent for communicating his knowledge in an interesting and educational manner, combined with his love for travel, led him to become a tour guide. Not to mention Armin had a talent for languages. Armin was definitely the most worldly person Eren knew.

On the other hand, Eren had remained undeclared the longest in university. He had no talent in art or science, had too much of a temper for law, and lacked creativity for the humanities. He was decent in mathematics and settled on accounting and finance. If anything, Eren's drive led him to landing a job at a large firm in the finance division.

For most it was boring, for Eren it would have been, but somehow, in his interview, he acquired the interest of his crude boss. Maybe it was his lack of fear. Eren honestly couldn't remember when one word just jumbled out over another. By the end, he didn't even know if he was coherent, but somehow he was now working under Levi.

And Levi kept Eren on his toes. Everything Eren had learned and practiced at university was 'complete and utter asinine bullshit' to use Levi's word choice. And Eren struggled to unlearn all the bad habits university had taught him in favor of Levi's methods in order to succeed. If Eren had a say in it, he was enlightened by the new way of thinking about numbers and drafting budgets. Or maybe just enlightened by his boss, but Eren didn't know the difference.

All seemed well for Eren. He was in a secure and well-paying job. The mortgage payment of his shared house with Mikasa and Armin could be covered on his salary alone if need be, but between the three of them, they were more than comfortable. He still had time for a social life with his university friends. He never had sleepless nights.

But then something cropped up, something that really bugged him.

The first three weeks of Eren's employment all seemed well and good. But the fourth week, Levi was completely absent. Eren was still somewhat learning the ropes of the new methodology behind his work, but he could only perform the tasks set out for him by the Email sent to him. Eren had no way of contacting Levi for any inquiries as any Email sent resulted in no reply and an automated out-of-office message.

The following Monday Levi returned without any mention of his absence and played catch-up on his backlogged pile. He was so busy Eren did not have a chance to speak with him. All Eren could do was try to do as much as he could to not lend more to Levi's massive heap of work.

By the end of the fifth week, Levi had caught up, but never mentioned his absence. Eren presumed it was an illness of some sort and never mentioned it.

All continued as normal until the eighth week, Levi was completely absent again. As per usual, Eren received an Email from Levi from the day prior outlining his work to do for the week. By then, Eren had fallen into a bit of a routine and completed his assigned tasks on Wednesday. When an email to Levi yielded only the automatic reply, Eren arranged a meeting with Levi's supervisor.

"Mr. Eren Jaeger, I presume. Come in and have a seat."

Eren nodded and took a seat in front the large polished oak desk, a wide computer screen on the corner hidden from his view. He kept his hands in his lap as he looked towards Erwin Smith, the supervisor for his division of the firm.

"So what brings you in Mr. Jaeger?"

Eren fidgeted in his seat and stared down at his hands clenching his slacks.

"Eren is fine, sir."

Erwin chuckled, "Of course. And while we're at it, you can call me Erwin. So Eren, what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Well, si- Erwin," Eren hastily corrected himself, "I'm sure you know that Levi has been absent this whole week so far..."

"Ah Levi," Erwin sat back in his chair and mused, "He takes off a week every month for health reasons. The higher ups never complain because he does some of the best work in the firm and does the same amount as anyone of his position despite his absences."

Eren nodded in understanding, but blurted out - maybe too forcefully - once Erwin finished, "Is Levi okay?"

Erwin chuckled, "Levi's fine. He just needs time off once in a while."

Eren could see that, as Levi always looked so tired and ready to kill someone. But somehow Eren couldn't believe someone like Levi would willingly take off work. He wasn't the type of person to do that. The only way would be if he had no other choice.

But Eren only agreed with Erwin, "Oh that's good. About Levi's absence... the reason I came in was because I finished all the work allotted to me in his absence, and I was wondering if there was any other work I could do."

Erwin hummed and nodded, "I really respect your hardworking and honest nature, Eren. Not many would willingly seek out more work, but that just shows your character.  If you want, I could forward you some of Levi's work and whatever you finish, send back to him for approval."

Eren mustered a grin, knowing at least he could help lessen Levi's backlog upon his return next Monday, "That's great! Thank you so much, Erwin."

So Eren kept busy whittling down Levi's work pile the next two and a half days. On Monday, Eren seized up when Levi called Eren into his office midway through the afternoon. Some of his coworkers in his local area, who worked under a different boss, gave him sympathetic frowns. Eren was stiff with mortification as he knocked on Levi's door and opened the last wooden barrier between his safety and doom. He tried his hardest to keep a neutral, or at least non fearful expression, but one of the new rumors circling around was that Levi could smell fear.

Eren swallowed, "Sir, you wanted to see me?"

"You look like you haven't shit in days."

Eren stepped in the tidy and organized office, "Sorry sir. I assure you everything is regular."

Levi fixed him with a blank look. Eren scratched his cheek nervously. He definitely needed to learn when his deadpan boss was joking. What a difficult task that was going to be.

"Jaeger, you did all this?"

Levi pushed his computer screen around to show Eren the list of files that Eren had sent back to Levi as per Erwin's instructions.

Eren nodded, "Yes sir, in your absence, I finished all the tasks you requested of me early, and I asked Mr. Erwin Smith for anything else to do."

Levi rose an eyebrow as he clicked to open one of the files, scrolling through it quickly, "This is... not a bad job, Eren."

Eren couldn't help the smile at the use of his first name, "Thank you, sir." He pressed, "If there's any other work you need me to cover in your absence, please do not hesitate to send it to me."

Levi only hummed a noncommittal response as he replaced his computer screen so that Eren couldn't see it anymore, "You can get back to work."

All went per usual in the workplace, Eren finding his rhythm despite the nagging in the back of his mind regarding Levi's routine, and albeit out-of-character, absences. But Eren shoved such pestering thoughts away as Armin was returning from a four week tour today and that meant the three of them would be going out to dinner that evening. Eren's excitement upon hearing all his friend's adventures took root in the forefront of his mind, and everything else was pushed elsewhere.

\---------------

"Armin!" Eren tossed his messenger bag on the couch as he practically tackled Armin into a tight hug.

Armin only chuckled lightly, "Good to see you too, Eren. Now can you release me? Otherwise I won't be conscious for dinner."

Eren released his hold on his friend, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Eren, clean up after yourself," Mikasa reprimanded her brother, gesturing to the bag which had tipped over and spilled most of its contents out. She was toweling her shoulder-length hair dry, most likely a shower after coming back from the gym.

Eren gave a pleading look to Armin, "See what I've had to deal with, Armin? She's been nagging twice as hard with you gone."

Mikasa only gave a soft smile as Eren gathered his work things up and shoved them up in his bag, "I'll be ready in ten minutes. Then we can leave."

Eren left his bag by the door, "So how was it, Armin? You were in Europe, right?"

Armin nodded, "A British Isles tour. Covered all of the UK and Ireland."

Eren grinned, "Man, I'd love to travel all over."

"You should, I can bring a couple of guests with me no problem. "

Eren shook his head, "Can't. At least not right now. Still new at my job."

"How has it been?"

"Well, it was hard at first. Everything they taught us in university was wrong. Had to relearn everything. But I think I finally have it down."

Mikasa came out, dressed in a blouse and skirt, much unlike her usual sporty wear, "I thought we should go somewhere nice for Armin's return."

"Armin, what did you feel like eating?"

Armin thought for a moment, "Well I've been eating British and Irish food for the past month, so if you guys don't mind, I feel like something different. How about Japanese?"

Mikasa nodded in agreement, grabbing a jacket, "Come on, I'll drive."

\---------------

Mikasa chose a nice sushi restaurant in honor of Armin's request. Thankfully, there were other things for Eren since he wasn't a fan of raw fish. (It was too chewy for him.) He was a fan of the crispy shrimp rolls though and stuck to what he liked in a steak and other cooked things, while Mikasa picked a chirashi plate, and Armin ordered a couple of sashimi favorites and a bowl of udon.

Eren poured the carafe of saké, "So tell us, how was it?"

Armin immediately gushed, "It was beautiful. You cannot believe the amount of museums in London! And the Edinburgh Castle is full of such history. You'd love the military museum, Eren."

"That's really cool! Man, I'd wish I could go on a tour led by you, Armin."

Throughout the evening, Armin excitedly told them about the tour he led, about one of the tourists getting plastered in Dublin at the Guinness Brewery, and about his adventures in Cardiff and everywhere else he went. He even slipped the occasional historical fact in and both of the parties listened intently and asked a question or two.

Then Armin wanted to hear more about how Eren was settling in at his new job. Armin left while Eren was still meeting people and settling in after all. Eren talked vaguely about his work and the coworkers on his floor, about the department supervisor, Erwin, and finally about his direct boss, Levi.

Now after the third carafe of saké, mostly being consumed by Eren (Mikasa only tried it as she was driving and Armin drank slowly since he was a bit of a lightweight), Eren was a little more loose lipped than usual.

"The thing that bugs me is that Levi is absent one week every month. And it's the same week every month! What's he even doing during those weeks?"

"Maybe he has family issues."

Eren adamantly shook his head, "He's not married, and he doesn't seem to have any immediate family. He never talks about anyone and his office is bare of any photographs. Erwin said it was health issues, but what happens on the same week every month like clockwork. Even periods aren't that consistent!"

That earned Eren a thwack upside the head by Mikasa.

Eren protested, clutching his head, but continued his rant, "And get this, I checked the calendar of his absent dates, and it coincided with the full moon! Is the guy a werewolf or something?"

Armin gave a thoughtful noise, "Although it's extremely rare, lycanthropy has been documented..."

Eren gave a scoff, "Armin, really? Werewolves are real? That's ridiculous."

"Not werewolves. Lycanthropy." At Eren's skeptical look, Armin hushed him, "It's a strange mental illness where the afflicted believe they are transforming into a wolf. Hence the name. But it's not actually happening... But it would make sense due to cultural beliefs that such 'transformations' would occur in time with the full moon, but usually the behavior is so strange and violent that the patient has to be locked up in a psych facility."

"No way Levi is insane. I admit he's a perfectionist, crude, and a slave driver, but there's no way he'd be so mentally disturbed."

Armin shrugged, "It's most likely just coincidence. The more likely culprit is anxiety, stress, or depression. You did say he was a perfectionist."

Eren numbly nodded, turning back to his saké. He didn't know why Levi's personal habits bothered him so much.

Armin easily sensed his friend's drop in mood, "You should pay him a visit. Maybe bring him something to help him feel better."

Eren immediately brightened at the prospect, even when Mikasa cast him a suspicious glance. All he had to do was wait for another three weeks.

\---------------

On time, the Monday of the twelfth week, Levi failed to show in to work. But Eren was prepared for it. On the weekend, he went out in search of premium imported black tea, Levi's usual drink of choice while working. Because black tea was lacking in nutrients, Eren also purchased a canister of premium green tea to go with it. Somehow Eren thought that Levi was the type that didn't take very good care of himself and did not take into account of his health.

After perusing through company files, he even found Levi's address. Although such documents were probably not for his eyes. Then again Erwin allowed him a higher security clearance since Levi approved him to cover his work in his absence. Eren hoped Levi wouldn't be too mad that he was concerned about his well-being.

Maybe the tea would be enough to distract him from that fact.

Once finished with work, he stopped at his house to pick up the tea and change into more casual clothes. Eren was never comfortable in dressy clothes, even his business casual work wear. So he dressed down to jeans, a flannel, and a hoodie, and left for Levi's house.

Levi's house was out in the suburbs, another twenty minutes or so away from the city in a quiet neighborhood. Eren was honestly expecting a large spacious mansion or a fancy penthouse apartment, but it was neither. Levi's house was a modest size home, a pale off white color with a neat and tidy curb appeal. Eren had to stifle his laughter at the idea of Levi planting flowers, but as the idea settled, it actually seemed very fitting of him.

Nervousness suddenly seized him. What if Levi had him fired? For a moment, he contemplated driving off and forgetting about the whole thing, but once he fixated on something, he'd never let it go. For his sake of mind, he somehow conquered his fear of... rejection, for lack of a better word, and made his way to the front door, clinging to the tea canisters as a lifeline.

His blood pounded in his head, blocking out the unexpected joyous chime of the doorbell. His mind continued to race until a low voice cut through everything.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

Eren could have sworn he was seeing things, but for a single moment, he could have sworn Levi's eyes were a molten gold. When he blinked, the color was back to Levi's natural gray. Eren's anxiety was surely getting the best of him. Definitely all that talk of lycanthropy.

"I just wanted to check on you. Erwin mentioned you take off every month for health reasons, and this was the third month in a row, and you didn't seem like you had anyone to take care of you...."

Eren was rambling and he knew it, but if he stopped, Levi was going tell him he was terminated and worse, he was calling the police.

"Relax, kid. It's fine."

That broke Eren out of his anxious cycle. "Thank you, sir."

"Levi. We're not at work."

"Um... I brought you some tea." Eren pushed the canisters of tea leaves towards Levi.

As Levi accepted the canisters and turned them around inspecting them, Eren allowed himself to take a breath to calm down. He finally noticed Levi's casual wear, a cream jumper and grey jeans. He looked a little strange initially without his usual cravat, but Eren found casual wear suited Levi very well.

The weirdest thing was that Levi seemed no worse for wear than usual. Definitely not ill enough for a sick day. Then Armin's speculation came back to him about Levi possibly having anxiety, stress, or depression. He seemed a bit guarded upon initially opening the door, but Eren's explanation seemed to remove his initial suspicions about why his employee would be coming to his personal address.

"Thank you for the tea, Eren." Levi shifted uncomfortably.

"It's no problem at all. Are you alright? Did you need anything?"

"I'm fine." Levi swallowed audibly. "Listen, you should go, it's late."

Eren tilted his head slightly in confusion. This was wrong. Something was wrong with Levi. He never beat around the bush, and had no problem telling someone to "fuck off" if unwanted. If anything, Levi seemed strained, maybe emotionally. Definitely a clincher in killing the newest outrageous rumor of the week that Levi had no capacity for human emotions.

But Eren didn't want to stay where he wasn't wanted so he said his goodbyes and for Levi to take care. He was only halfway down the walkway when he heard the door shut and lock. What was wrong with him? Eren came for answers and only came out with more questions.

Somehow he felt a bit of rejection that Levi was so keen on getting him to leave. But he was just a measly employee. They had no personal relationship.

With a sigh, Eren returned to his car, ready to make the drive back home, when the garage door of Levi's residence opened. Levi backed his modest make of a car out and sped off. The garage door wasn't fully closed before Levi was halfway down his street.

That was certainly.... not normal.

Without any rational reason, Eren only fired up his Honda and followed him. Something was clearly wrong, and there was no way he'd be able to sleep tonight if he didn't find out what was bothering Levi. He had trouble keeping track of the average car among many on the highway, but somehow managed to stay at a distance and follow Levi when he exited near the mountains. In the night, not many drove through the winding roads, but appeared to be the chosen route.

If something was wrong, why wasn't Levi going to the hospital?

Eren's blood pounded as Levi turned off on a dirt road, keeping back far enough that he hoped Levi wouldn't notice. He even kept his headlights off since it was only the two of them on the hidden, rustic road.

When the headlights ahead of him turned off, Eren stopped on the side of the dirt road. He chose the opportunity to fish his phone out and shoot a text to both Armin and Mikasa that he'd be home late and not to worry.

What a lie. He wasn't sure he'd make it out alive. Why did Levi come here?

He used the dull light of his phone to guide the way forward. When he reached Levi's car, the other man was missing. Instead Eren pushed forward, through the edge of the forest, deeper into the woods where he reached the edge of a small clearing. Levi appeared preoccupied, his back facing Eren. Eren hid his phone from view in his pocket lest the light catch Levi's attention, as he held his breath and watched, trying to use the tree as a hiding place.

Oh god.

Levi was stripping. First his jumper and the light button up underneath. Eren's hand clamped over his mouth as he caught a view of Levi's shoulders and a side view of his abs as he half-turned to undo his shoes and toe off his socks. Next he undid his jeans. Damn his boss had a perfect body.

For a second, Eren thought the show would end there. Maybe camera crews would burst out of nowhere as some sort of hidden camera gag. But no, Levi removed his jeans and boxers as if this was something he did every month. Levi kept his back to Eren, but threw a glance over his shoulder, freezing Eren to the spot.

Eren hadn't been seeing things the first time. Levi's eyes were most certainly golden.

Eren clutched the bark of the tree as the light of the moon illuminated the unspeakable actions that happened next. Black engulfed the pale skin of Levi's form. At first Eren thought that it was darkness stealing Levi away, but soon realized it was fur.

Loud cracks echoed in Eren's ears. He knew that sound well. The only time he heard it was when his skateboard hit a sprinkler and he broke his wrist when he was 9.

Levi's bones were breaking and reforming.

Eren almost wished Armin's lycanthropy theory was right. The transformation was painful to watch, but he couldn't imagine what it was like to live through it. Frozen to the spot, Eren could only stare as the remaining transformations were hidden from view.

And soon the black shadow was turning and rushing towards him.

Eren saw the blanket curled around Mikasa and him when they watched the werewolf horror flicks when they were 7. He remembered the men that lost their humanity when the full moon reared her ugly head. How even the strongest fell to the call of the beast as they became anthropomorphic wolfmen set out on maiming all that crossed their path. Blood lust ruling their senses.

Eren saw his death as he emitted a pained groan when the onyx beast connected with his body.

He finally opened his eyes when the beast wasn't ripping him to shreds. And he finally had his first good look at the animal - not a manbeast hybrid. Levi wasn't a wolf or canine at all, but a large cat. Panther was the word Eren was searching for in his numb mind.

The panther snarled at him, showing off sharp fangs that could easily rip out his organs and make him into a meal if he so wished. Eren recognized the flattened ears and flicking motions of the long tail as aggressive and threatening behaviors. And yet Levi, if he was even in there, made no move on him. One lone front paw rested on his chest, and if Eren gauged correctly, all of the cat's weight could easily crush his ribcage and the squishy organs within, his heart and lungs. But it was only a light pressure as the cat kept the most of its weight on his hind legs.

The movement of the tail slowed and flattened ears rose and as if losing interest in him as prey, the cat leaped off of him a meter or so away with a soft growl. 'You little shit,' was what Eren heard. The tip of the cat's tail flicked quickly, and Eren couldn't tell if that still meant aggression or not.

He was unsure what the cat - what Levi - wanted from him. Was he supposed to stand up? Or was he supposed to stay on the ground in a submissive position? No matter what, Levi - if Levi was in full control of himself - wouldn't harm him. He just wasn't that type of person - or cat... probably.

That thought brought a newfound confidence within him, and he found the strength to stand. His knees shook, betraying his mind and displaying his fear. His breath held and he managed to remain standing as he lifted a hand towards Levi.

If he was wrong, he'd be missing a hand or more. But as he turned his head away, too afraid too look, another snarl echoed, and his head snapped back to look as Levi elegantly stretched his head forward to butt against Eren's palm. Eren got the message and scratched behind the feline's ears. As Eren met more resistance, he moved his scratching to the cat's cheeks and chin. He was really surprised that the cat's fur was so soft, almost like silk or velvet.

Levi rubbed his side against him and then turned his attention to the tree Eren had been hiding behind earlier. Sharp claws raked through the bark, leaving lasting grooves, before Levi leapt up into the tree and rested his head on his paws, but kept his gaze fixed on Eren.

Eren knew it'd be a long night so he slid against the clawed bark, finally finding his voice as he gave a loud sigh, "I never would have guessed you came here every month."

'Of course you fucking wouldn't.' That would be a very Levi-esque answer, Eren mused to himself.

"I was really worried that you were really sick. I thought it might be monthly chemotherapy treatments for cancer or something. And when I noticed the time it happened, I even entertained the idea of lycanthropy. The mental illness, not an actual werewolf."

Above him, Levi snorted in derision, as if Eren's whole concern in the matter was simply absurd or foolish.

And Eren realized that Levi was still Levi. His form may have physically changed, but he was still in there. Eren wasn't sure how cat-like Levi was, but he was nothing like the Hollywood horror beasts without any rationality.

Eren didn't realize when he fell asleep, but he woke up to the sound of cracking in the early daylight. He was still somewhat half-asleep, but once he realized where he was curled up against a tree, and who he had been with, his eyes shot open. Levi was standing before him, human again, and clothed looking fairly unimpressed. Maybe annoyed. He dropped to one knee, a hand slammed onto the bark on one side of Eren's head. Eren flinched with a small yelp.

That was definitely a wake up call.

"Oi brat."

"Yes sir?"

"Do you hate me?"

"Huh?" Eren stared back dumbfounded.

"Do you hate me for what I am?"

Eren shook his head quickly, afraid his voice would fail him, "N-no."

Levi hummed, "Good. You should start heading back if you want time to shower before work. You smell like shit."

Levi leaned back as he stood, his nose wrinkled in distaste, Eren taking the opportunity to climb to his feet, brushing leaves and dirt off his clothes.

"And you, sir?"

Levi clenched his hand into a fist as his eyes blazed gold, "It's not just one night. It'll be over at the end of the week."

Eren turned around to head back to his car as Levi told him to.

"Eren. Don't tell anyone about this."

Eren turned around, "I won't."

\---------------

Eren was ten minutes late to work that day, after getting interrogated by Mikasa, having to shower, and needing to fill with belly with something substantial before working. A couple of fearful glances were thrown his way, but once they realized the tyrant wasn't going to show up and maim Eren for his tardiness, practically the whole floor gave an audible sigh of relief.

A swell of pride rose in his chest as he finally had the answer for Levi's absences, and as predicted, it was because Levi had no choice in the matter. In a way, Eren felt he was more connected to Levi that they now shared Levi's secret. But as one question was answered, more sprouted, nagging him.

Was it a disease? Was Levi okay? How did he become like that?

His thoughts swam as he completed his work. He noted vaguely that this week he had no assigned work of his own, but rather just a joint folder with Levi's assignments. The next document he opened wracked his brain, as he performed calculations and tried his best to predict estimates. His brain was submerged in molasses and his back ached.  With a huff, he stood and left his cubicle, in search for coffee to get his mind running again.

No surprise, another of his coworkers was lounging in the kitchenette inhaling their lunch out of a tupperware.

"Hey Eren!" Sasha called around a mouth full of food, her cheeks bulging like a squirrel's.

Eren knew her from his floor, but she was a personal assistant to the other manager on the floor rather than working in finances like the others. Eren supposed he became somewhat famous after he stayed working as a fresh grad under Levi rather than rush to transfer.

"Hi Sasha." Eren smiled weakly as he poured a mug of coffee for himself.

Sasha swallowed her mound of food, "You don't look so good... is it the slave driver?"

"No!" Eren hurriedly responded, eyes wide. "No," he repeated quieter, "I... was just out late at night. Went drinking with my friends."

Sasha looked amazed, "Wow... he lets you do that? I heard he puts bugs, those little cameras, in his employees' cars and homes. He always has to know what you guys are up to."

"No, he doesn't do that.  Where do all these rumors come from anyway?"

Sasha shrugged, "No idea. Maybe he starts them himself."

Eren stared at her for a moment over the rim of his now full coffee mug before turning to walk out of the break room, "That's ridiculous."

"Hey, Eren?"

Eren stopped, hand on the doorknob, as he turned to face Sasha, "Yeah?"

"Why did you stay working under him?"

Eren flushed lightly, a subtle change that was bound to become more obvious if he answered that question honestly, "Well.... he's honest for one. When I first came to work here, I needed honest criticism if I were to stay. He's a good mentor and teacher, and a stickler for protocol." Eren half-shrugged, "He's a good guy."

Eren inwardly beamed at the quality of his answer. Nothing strange or alluding to Levi's 'condition.'

Sasha nodded, satisfied with that. Eren went back to work.

The rest of the day was better. Running on coffee gave Eren more energy to make a dent in his pile. By the time he left, he felt he accomplished a lot. He immediately left for home. Dinner went by as usual, Armin cooking a homemade meal before he'd be off to run another tour in a week. Eren declined talking about work when it was so dry as of late.

"Is it because Levi is off this week?" Mikasa cut in.

"What? No!" Eren vehemently denied.

Armin put his two cents in, "You seemed awfully enamoured with him when I got back."

Eren flushed, "It's not like that!"

Mikasa pointed her fork at Eren, shooting him a stern look, "Eren, just cut it out with Levi and his personal issues. Relationships in the workplace never go well."

"We're not dating!" 'Yet,' his traitorous mind added.

Oh god. He had the hots for his occasionally catified boss. Man, he was so screwed. And unfortunately not in the way he'd like.

\---------------

Eren was subjected to lighthearted teasing from Armin and some dry joking courtesy of Mikasa, probably once she realized how bad Eren had it based on how easy it was to get him riled up. It left Eren flustered, sometimes annoyed, and for once, he was relieved Levi was absent. Otherwise, everything might spill out once Levi noticed how Eren reacted to his presence. He was jumpy to say the least.

And not just because the supernatural now actually existed or that he had a big secret to keep... He really had a crush on his boss.

Yeah, that's professional.

On Friday, Eren was midway through the day when his phone buzzed in his pocket. As he checked the screen, he saw a text from a private number.

'Oi brat, be at my place at 7:30. Don't be late.'

Only one person that could be. Eren's face reddened. Levi was asking him to go over to his house tonight? Eren watched enough television (he used to watch those criminal forensic shows with his dad) to know going over to someone's house late at night was a prime time to be murdered. Eren knew something he shouldn't after all. He just lacked the whole 'stuck in a love triangle' or 'has a large life insurance policy' trope.

Eren realized he couldn't even reply when Levi was using a blocked number. Cancel all his (nonexistent) plans for the evening. He could just ignore it, but with his new infatuation and his desire to please, he already was scheduled in his mind for the evening to arrive on time at Levi's residence.

After work, Eren returned home, wound as tight as a spring with anxiety. He still had a couple hours and after changing out of the ironed dress shirt and slacks that felt too stiff and stuffy, he crashed on his couch, face down into the cushions.

"Hey, Eren, what's wrong?"

The charming light tone from Armin was enough to get Eren to roll over onto his side with a groan.

"My life is over. Levi wants me to go over to his house tonight."

Armin's brows knit together, "Isn't it the end of his week off?"

"Yeah... but I don't know what he wants from me." Eren sighed.

"Maybe you should tell him how you feel."

"No!" Eren protested immediately, "I can't do that. It'd make work awkward as hell."

Armin gave a light shrug, "It's better than confessing at work. And you never know, he might feel something for you too."

Eren gave Armin a cynical look, "You don't know Levi. He is the most deadpan, dry person in existence."

"I'm sure even he has feelings, Eren. He probably isn't good at expressing them."

"...yeah."

\---------------

When Eren arrived at Levi's place, he ensured he had more than enough time to not be late. Mikasa had come home sometime after Eren had his conversation with Armin, and Eren told her he was going to a colleague's home to hang out. He was wary of specifying Levi because she already wasn't a fan of his once she found out Eren was covering his work during his weeks off. Even after Eren insisted he requested it to remain productive and that somehow he wasn't working any harder or longer.

He definitely couldn't figure out that math.

Mikasa had pushed a tin of Dutch butter cookies towards him, relaying that when going to someone's home, one always had to bring something to eat. To avoid argument, Eren accepted the tin, but now that he was sitting in his car in front of Levi's house, he felt a little silly. Maybe the cookies would go well with tea.

Briefly debating leaving the tin in the car, Eren ended up grabbing it as he trudged across the walkway up to the front door. He felt so small all of a sudden, clutching the cookie tin like when he had to sell various things for school fundraisers when he was back in elementary school.

He took a breath and rang that extremely unfitting cheery doorbell. With the way he was feeling, Eren thought that suspenseful horror movie music would be more fitting.

"Hey," Eren exhaled when the door swung open, "Um here."

Levi rose an eyebrow at the extended cookie tin, but didn't accept it, "What the fuck is that?"

Eren tilted the tin towards him so he could read the lid, "Dutch spritz butter cookies."

Levi rolled his eyes, "I can read, thanks."

One of Eren's hands shot up to dig in messy brown hair as an anxious habit, "Oh.... um my sister said you're supposed to bring something when you go over to someone's house."

"That explains the tea."

"Oh, no. The tea was my idea," Eren flushed slightly, "I thought it would help you feel better."

"Thanks," Levi took the offered tin and stepped aside so Eren could enter.

Eren noticed a shoe rack to the right of the tiled entryway and toed off his converse in front of it. Levi was already walking deeper into the house. Eren followed, taking in the clean, almost bare house.

The house was carpeted, a stark white carpet that lacked a single stain. The furniture was all modern and well taken care of. There were no photographs Eren could see. If anything, Eren would think this was a house being rented furnished. In the kitchen, which Eren could see on the far side of the living room, separated by a bartop, there were signs of life in boxes of food and a bowl of fruit. A bookshelf in the living room carried a slew of books.

"Have a seat."

Eren followed the instructions and took a seat on the couch. Levi was filling an electric kettle.

"Tea?"

Eren had been busying himself admiring the décor (he didn't think Levi was a man for crown molding, but sure enough it was there), "Huh? Oh, um... sure!"

'Real smooth Eren.' His mind chastised for his hurried and agreeable response.

A comfortable silence fell, only interrupted by the boiling of water in the kettle and sounds of Levi spooning tea into strainers. Eren mildly reflected that it was almost like a routine and they met for tea weekly. But in reality, it wasn't like that at all. They were only coworkers: boss and employee. Nervousness thrummed in his veins as he couldn't gauge Levi's mental state. Levi called him here for a reason... He had a vague idea it involved Levi's cat-ness.

All Eren knew was Levi was being hospitable. He was being... nice.

Was it an attempt to keep Eren content because he knew Levi's secret? Or was it a false pretense before Levi would murder him? Eren wasn't sure if Levi could or would transform still.

"You look constipated." Levi put down a small tray on the coffee table, two steaming mugs of tea, a container of sugar, and one of those mini pitchers of milk. The open tin of cookies was on there too.

"Oh no, everything is regular... I was just thinking."

Levi nodded, snatching one of the small cookies and taking a bite. He chewed for a moment, swallowed with a hum, "Not bad."

Eren kept his hands clasped in his lap, unsure of what to do. Levi meanwhile was completely relaxed in his armchair, one leg crossing over the other.

Levi sighed as if in annoyance, "I asked you to come, because I wanted to make sure you would still be fine working in my division. If not, I can have Erwin arrange a transfer or help you apply to another company."

"No!" Eren blurted out, immediately tightening his fists in his jeans, "I don't want to leave. Please... I want to stay where I am."

Levi's eyes widened slightly, the color in them shifting once again to gold. Eren flinched in surprise.

"Sir... your eyes..."

Levi only poured some milk in his tea and stirred. Gripping the rim in his thin fingers, he took a sip of tea, his eyes shifting back to grey. "That was the other reason I asked you here. To let you ask anything you wanted to clear the air."

Somehow regaining his motion, Eren took a sip from his mug of tea, making a face at the bitterness. He spooned some sugar into the mug, stirring it, and added some milk for good measure.

"Oh.... well... how did you become like that?"

"I was born like that."

Eren nabbed one of the cookies and chewed.

Levi gave him a cynical glance, "There's more than that, Jaeger."

"I know... I'm just thinking. Um... how... cat-like are you?"

Levi's eyebrow rose, "Completely."

"But you didn't attack me."

"It's nothing like movies and television. I'm as much of a cat now as when I have a fur coat. It's the form that changes."

"It's nothing to do with the moon?"

"No. I just need to transform every so often otherwise it affects my work life... It takes a while after transformations that more subtle signs subside."

Eren nodded, steeling himself for anything so he wouldn't be flinching every time Levi's eyes changed color. "Have you ever thought of finding out how to fix it so you could live a normal life?"

Something flashed in Levi's eyes, but it was gone too quickly for Eren to identify.

"Eren. Have you read _The Island of Dr. Moreau_?"

Eren shook his head, "No I haven't."

Levi exhaled softly, "It's a story about a egotistical scientist who attempts to make animals into humans. He surgically alters them, tries to make them civilized, and makes them live in societies with other creatures on this island."

Eren could guess where Levi was going with this. He instantly regretted asking such a question.

"But when the scientist dies, all the animals revert to their natural state. They're all mutated because of his attempts to make them human, but their minds are back to their natural state." Levi stops, takes one look at Eren, and growls softly, the same sound Eren heard when he was in the forest with cat Levi, "You don't have any fucking idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

Eren scrunches up his face in concentration, "I have not read the book, no. But I think your point is... to not change the natural state of things... or make things into something they're not."

"Yes and no. It's hard to say since I'm both feline and human of where I fit on the scale of what I am and what I should be." Levi pauses, sipping his tea while he thinks how to word his thoughts, "I think I've assimilated enough into humanity. I couldn't take it if I had to wall off my other half."

Eren is surprised that Levi tells him all of this, and at the same time, happy that Levi trusts him enough to share his personal life. Despite how strange it is.

"Do you have any family?"

"An adoptive father. We haven't talked in years."

Eren nodded, "But isn't it hard to go through all this on your own?"

"Cats are solitary creatures. So no, not really."

"What about the human side of things?"

"Now there's you. Nosing your way into my personal life."

Eren looked embarrassingly down at his lap, "I was concerned for your well-being."

"And you are the first."

"Huh?"

"Others worried for my health. Erwin and others, but no one was as persistent and thick skulled like you to follow me everywhere." Levi's voice dropped in volume, "Shitty brat."

Eren couldn't help smiling at that. Despite the words, it was almost an affectionate term. "Does that mean I can come up with you again?"

"Do whatever you want." Levi's gaze slid sidelong away from Eren.

Eren just beamed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry. It's been forever since the last update. Long story short, life happened. Because of life and how things are with class (I end up typing up the end of this when I should be working on essays, hehe) and the need to find a job, I expect this will only be one or two chapters more, depending on how much I can reasonably fit into a chapter. (This one ended up a bit longer than the previous!)
> 
> It was the second half of this that was so difficult to write. I hope it's okay and not too cliché. 
> 
> I have a vague skeleton of events, but most of the details are flushed out as I write, rewrite, and edit. That being said, if you have questions about any characters/backstories/etc., please let me know and I can either answer them or work it into the story.
> 
> I hope you enjoy.

Eren was in a tizzy. Why? Because Levi completely ignored him at work the following Monday. Okay, so maybe Levi wasn't ignoring him, but he hadn't left his office since arriving. If he was even in there. Eren could have sworn he completed everything within the joint folder during Levi's week off, but he wondered if Levi had been behind on files Eren could not complete due to his lower ranking position. Maybe his completion of the joint work was subpar to Levi's standards.

No, no. Eren was sure he did them correctly. He had been told to redo things too many times during his first two weeks to NOT know Levi's standards.

So that meant... Levi was avoiding him?

Did he do anything wrong? Maybe he was too awkward at Levi's house.  'Oh shit, I shouldn't have asked about trying to fix being a cat... or half-cat. Now he probably hates me.'

Full of regret, Eren moped as he dragged himself through a new week's work.  He didn't see Levi at all on Tuesday, and by Wednesday, his okay mood had dropped considerably.

"Hey Eren, why do you look so sad?" Sasha stopped as she strolled by Eren’s cubicle shortly before lunch, as usual munching away at something. This time, it was a tupperware of croquettes.

"Oh no reason..."

Sasha slammed a palm on Eren's desk, the loud thump making several people in nearby cubicles jump or gasp, but Eren only clicked to the next page of the long tedious document.

"No, I know that face anywhere! It's the tyrant, isn't it?"

Eren gave a sigh, "Yeah... I think he hates me."

"He hates everybody," Sasha cocked her head slightly as if confused as to why Eren would worry about such a thing. Her voice dropped to a whisper, "I heard he abandoned his baby in a dumpster."

"What! No! That's a bunch of lies." Eren protested, "Seriously, where does this absurd gossip originate?"

The wooden door on his side of the floor opened then, and Sasha squeaked, slinking away when she realized just whose door it was. Levi appeared pinching the bridge of his nose, "Jaeger. My office now."

Eren straightened in his chair at being addressed, scrambling out of his chair to follow Levi back into his office. Sasha flashed him a nervous smile and a thumbs up halfway across the floor. Eren rolled his eyes, but contrary to his nonchalance with Sasha, Eren's mind raced in his nervousness about what Levi would want with him. He really hoped Levi's hearing wasn't so keen that he heard Sasha and her outrageous rumors. He absolutely did not want to be roped in with her and whoever had a mind to start them.

He was already set on testifying his innocence, "Sir, I-"

"Quiet." Levi rubbed his fingers across the upper part of his cheek where his temporomandibular joint lay beneath his skin. He sighed as his hands dropped, taking a breath, "Erwin has just informed me that it's time again to draft the budget for the Computer Technology Division. We're holding a preliminary meeting tomorrow at 10, but those bastards are always trying to take a shit on our estimates and take more than they need."

Eren dutifully nodded his head as he took in all the information but kept his mouth shut. The scowl ingrained in Levi's expression displayed on a neon billboard that he was in no mood for questions or protests. 

"I need you to hold off on your files and dig up the past budgets and calculate them with inflation. You'll be presenting this at tomorrow's meeting."

Eren nodded quickly, "Yes sir, I'll have the report ready by then."

"Good. Just as expected of you, Eren."

\---------------

Eren's mood increased from his moping to that of focused determination now that he had an urgent task at hand. His mood improved substantially just knowing the fact that Levi trusted his abilities for the meeting tomorrow. But at the same time, anxiety thrummed through his veins at the thought of failing his division... a.k.a. Levi.

Eren skipped lunch, his gaze fixed on his computer screen as he dug up past budgets amid the firm's database of files and performed calculations repeatedly. He even had to make a few calls to suppliers to double check on the current prices for some items. He got so caught up in his task he didn't realize what time it was when he finished organizing all the adjusted documents and printed out a copy to place in Levi's office mailbox. By the time he gathered his things and left, the posted time was an hour later than his typical exit. 

On his way out, he texted Mikasa about dinner and that he was running late. When she replied that she was still out, Eren proposed the idea of Chinese takeout and once he got the confirmation, he was in his car and driving to the local restaurant. As always, he ordered extra despite Armin being out of town on a tour. Leftovers made lunch or breakfast warm ups, and they were never half bad. Food in tow, by the time he arrived back home, Mikasa was back from studying for her classes. Eren was quick to unpack the load and shovel food on his plate, while conversing with Mikasa. She had placed her book on the couch and was filling her own plate.

"How are classes?"

Mikasa shrugged, "Decent, more or less. Biochemistry is a pain."

"You have to take that again?" Eren spoke around mouthfuls of food.

She nodded solemnly, "An advanced version for a masters in exercise physiology."

He winced, "Ouch. Sorry I can't help. That stuff is like another language."

Smiling, Mikasa nodded, "I'll get through it. How's work?"

Eren shrugged, "Had to do a lot of paperwork for a big meeting tomorrow. Turns out budgeting for the Computer Technology Division is a pain in the ass when the division's trying to squeeze every penny out of you."

"I'm sure you'll get your numbers, Eren."

"If anything, Levi will be making death threats to anyone who speaks out of line," he offhandedly blurted.

Mikasa's gaze darkened at the mention of his boss, "Is he making you cover for him again?"

"No, I told you, I'm just doing my required work for my job. Besides, I've been doing the same amount of work since I've gotten into the routine."

Mikasa still looked wary, and Eren sighed.

"Really, Mikasa, don't worry about me. You've got to worry about yourself and your classes. My job is hardly anything to worry about."

Mikasa only nodded, backing off of her mothering, and their dinner continued as usual.

\---------------

The next morning, once Eren arrived into work, he questioned his own words about his location of occupation when everything seemed so chaotic. With his file of estimates and past budgets in tow, Eren couldn't even recall how he ended up on an upper floor, outside a conference room.

"Ah, Eren, so nice to see you here. Levi tells me you'll be presenting our evidence," Erwin's warm smile was accompanied by a firm handshake and a friendly pat on the back.

Eren nodded, "Yes, I have everything prepared for today."

'Evidence is a strange word to use, wasn't it?' But Eren pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind as his attention was drawn back to Erwin.

"Eren, I'd like to introduce you to our Capital Management Advisor, Mike Zacharius."

Another blond was next to Erwin, a bit of stubble peppering the advisor's chin and upper lip, and if Eren wasn't seeing things, he could have sworn Mike was sniffing the air, but he chalked it up to anxiety due to the big meeting.

He put his hand out, "It's nice to meet you, Mike."

Mike took his hand with a nod, "Likewise... you'll go far."

"Huh?"

Mike gave a small smile, "You'll go far in this company... I can feel it."

Eren thought it was somewhat of a strange thing to say, but at the same time, being a Capital Management Advisor meant he had to deal with risk assessment and guidance. He supposed that maybe someone in that position had to follow their instinct and needed a good one.

As everyone filed out from the hall into the conference room, Eren found Levi already seated. No wonder he hadn't seen him outside.

"Well? Are you going to gawk or sit?"

Eren took a seat next to Levi, his head slightly bowed as his gaze fixed on the file he was to present on the large conference table. Except said file was moving... as Levi pulled it towards him and flipped through it, skimming the pages.

He clicked his tongue, "Impressive to get all this done in half a day, Jaeger."

"Thank you, sir."

The chatter amongst the parties at the table was called to order by Erwin, and Eren noticed that while the other side of the table was full and all unfamiliar, their side left empty chairs and contained Erwin, Mike, Sasha with her notepad, Levi, himself, and couple of unfamiliar people. Aside from the unfamiliars, Eren couldn't gauge if any person of his rank was here, even if on the other side.

The Computer Technology supervisor opened up with how their performance was subpar due to financial constraints.

"That's because you spent money as if you were shitting it out into a fucking tupperware. The faster you got rid of it, the more space you had to shit more out," Levi cut in.

The Technology supervisor was growing red at the offending remark, and one of his colleagues rushed in with a long winded explanation about computers and the need for the newest technology. Eren tried to pay attention, he really did, but it was like Mikasa reciting physiological cycles out of her massive textbooks.  Simply put, all that technical jargon was a foreign language.

Eren nearly jumped out of his seat when he felt something sharp poke his leg. Multiple pinpricks poked his thigh then and as his gaze slid to his lap, he managed to catch Levi withdrawing a hand full of claws. His breath caught as if Levi would transform here, and his gaze shifted upward to Levi fixing him with a sharp look.

"Stop their shit spewing and give the raw hard facts."

As his gaze fixed on the other side of the table, the colleague still yammering, Eren's gaze slid past Levi to Sasha scribbling her notes rapidly, to Mike looking absolutely bored, and finally to Erwin who nodded at him.

Okay, this was his moment. Do or die. More like do it successfully or Levi would maul him with his claws.  He cleared his throat loudly, steeling his resolve.

"Excuse me, I have evidence that proves otherwise."

"What? A child is going to talk about numbers with us? We already know 1 + 1 = 2," some random person on the other side spat.

Eren scowled, about to go off on the other side with a long rapport of his skills and qualifications, but Erwin was there first.

"Eren here is of great talent in our division. He may be young, yes, but his hardworking nature and desire to succeed are a force to be reckoned with. Let him speak."

Eren continued, "As I was saying, I analyzed the past budgets and spending patterns, and on a trend, if you adjusted for inflation and pricing changes, you'll find that on average, there is a downward trend. In other words, due to the cheapening of data and other computer pieces, you need less money. I've noticed on the spending sheets, the years that spending increased were because of miscellaneous spending, but nothing explicit as to what the miscellaneous spending entailed was listed on records."

Erwin nodded, "Thank you, Eren. As you all can see, after adjusting the past year's budget for inflation, I think you'll find that number more than fair."

\---------------

Eren had been relieved once the meeting was over, but setting up a budget with the Computer Technology division was like going to war. They had insisted on more funds to complete an overhaul of a remodel on their computers and printers. On the other end, Levi was going through each and every point of interest, shooting every request down... more like placing each request in front of a firing line. The worst part was when for each new request, Levi looked at him expectantly to read off the appropriate estimates. By the end, Sasha was disrupted from her note taking and was near cowering from Levi's onslaught. Even Eren was left feeling thankful that he was not in Computer Technology.

At the end, Levi was first out of the room at a brisk pace, his voice trailing after him, "Jaeger, my office!"

Eren rushed the file over to Erwin, who thanked him for all his research. Sasha gave him a sympathetic smile, and Eren excused himself to rush over to the elevators. He knocked on Levi's door, and only after hearing confirmation did he let himself in.

Levi's fierce gaze stared him down as if he were prey, and for a moment, he couldn't bring himself to move. Taking a deep breath, Eren tried to calm himself down and tried to not mind the fact Levi was much more catlike at the moment than usual. He stood there awkwardly, torn between sitting down and hiding his fear under casual concern and acting on the burning desire to run away until his boss was more rational and less instinctual, his concern growing as Levi's gaze brightened into gold, "Sir, are you alright?"

"Do I look like I'm alright?"

"Um... you look like you're about to shift."

"Because I am." Levi sighed, "Can you get me a Masala chai tea from the café downstairs? With milk. Go get something for yourself too."

"Of course," Eren hurried out the door, back to elevators and down to the firm's café.

He wasn't expecting the café to have such an exotic selection of teas, but as Levi requested, his desired blend was up there. Eren ordered the specific blend and billed it to the finance division, and chose a fall blend for himself. Once it was brewed, he hurried to return the cups to Levi's office. With two hands full of hot cups of tea, Eren didn't knock but managed to barely open and close the door. Levi was still seated at his desk, breathing in and out in an almost rhythmic pattern, his eyes closed. Eren approached slowly, setting both cups of tea down on the desk before taking a seat himself.

"Sir, I brought your tea as requested."

"Good," Levi's eyes flickered open, hand grasping the disposable cup and taking a sip with a soft hum of approval.

Eren fidgeted, blowing on his tea through the small hole in the lid for the sake of something to do. He didn't know if he should leave or not. Would asking be rude? Probably. So he kept quiet, his gaze bouncing to different areas of Levi's office.

"Calm down, will you? I won't bite your head off."

"Sorry, sir. It's just... I don't know what to do in situations like this."

"Tea."

"What?"

"Do I need to repeat myself?" Levi gave Eren a disapproving look. "You never asked about the logistics of transforming," his look of disapproval seemed to darken though this time it wasn't aimed at him. "When my mental state is thrown off kilter, instinct kicks in. Tea calms it down."

"So at the meeting..."

"Yes, I can't handle stupidity from those pigs very well."

Eren nodded solemnly, "I understand. They didn't pay attention to any of our estimates."

"Your estimates." When Eren stared at him blankly, Levi took another sip of tea and continued, "The Technology division knew you were new, and since the estimates came from you, it was likely to be a weak point."

"Then why didn't someone more experienced perform the estimates?"

"Erwin wanted you to do it. If you could raise yourself up to the task, he'd know you were worth keeping."

"Then if I failed,  I would've been-"

"Fired? Fuck no. You just would have become another grunt on the floor." Levi's brow furrowed as if he were frustrated with the whole matter, but Eren couldn't tell if it was at Erwin or the Computer Technology division. Maybe both. "If your head wasn't in your ass, you should have noticed that there weren't very many people from our floor. Erwin's very selective of who attends these important meetings."

Eren only nodded as he drank his own cup of tea, the spices of cardamom and nutmeg reminding him of Autumn and cooling temperatures as well as the changing colors of the leaves. They fell into an odd sort of silence, much like when he had tea with Levi at his home. It was a comfortable silence that didn't need to be killed with unnecessary words, and Eren began to feel at ease after the stress of their earlier meeting. Levi even seemed to be much calmer, or at least not as murderous. The furrow of his brows seemed to soften, and his face seemed younger without the harrowed look he usually wore. Realizing he was staring at his boss, Eren glanced away hurriedly, hiding his embarrassment behind the disposable cup as he nursed his drink.

"Eren." It was Levi who breached the silence first.

"Yes, sir?"

"It's past lunch time." At the look of the clock, Eren noticed it was 1:28 pm. "Did you want to get something to eat?"

"Oh um... I'm fine... I can wait until afterwards..."

Levi gave him a 'Cut the bullshit, I can hear your stomach' look. "I know a decent place nearby."

"Oh... in that case, sure."

Eren felt extremely stupid, having thought that Levi was sending him off for lunch rather than inviting him to lunch personally. 'It's almost like a date,' his uncensored mind whispered. Oh great. Now he couldn't get that thought out of his mind.

\---------------

About a block away from their firm's building, tucked down a small side street was a small café. Except this time, unlike their firm's café, which only served pastries and prepacked sandwiches, this place looked to serve specialty dishes and what looked like in-house made desserts. His mouth was already watering, and not just because he was starving.

A petite- shorter than Levi petite- young woman with strawberry blonde hair cut in a bob hurried to the front with a welcoming smile, "Levi! Welcome back!" She was slightly out of breath, and based by the almost full state of the restaurant, that appeared to be the cause. Her smile brightened at Eren, "Oh, who's this? Are we making it a table for two today?"

Levi scoffed at her teasing, "Petra, this is Eren. He works in finances with me. Eren, Petra. She is a friend of mine. She owns this bistro."

Friend? Now that was new. Not that he thought Levi wasn't the type of person to have friends, but due to his unique ability and his nature to keep to himself, Eren had a hard time imagining a specific type of person who would be a friend of Levi's. Then again, if anyone,  Petra seemed to fit the bill. Eren thought her warmth and friendly nature made it so that she could be friends with anyone.

Petra laughed softly at Levi's response to her teasing, "Here, let me show you to your table." Once she guided them to a table by the French doors, with a view of the street, she zeroed in on Eren with a grin, "So tell me, how is it, working with Levi? He's such a perfectionist, I can't imagine he would allow any mistakes."

Eren had taken his seat, and snuck a questioning glance to Levi, who had a completely blank expression. Okay, he was on his own for this one. "Well... the first few weeks were hard, because I had to redo everything... I guess the stuff they teach you in school is all wrong... but Levi gave good advice and pointers. I think I have the hang of it now."

Petra smiled, "You must be doing a great job, especially if you can handle all his rude talk... If Levi didn't see anything in you, you wouldn't be here. Go ahead and take a look at the menu, and I'll be back shortly for your order or if you have any questions."

Eren placed his hand on the leather bound book and flipped through the crisp pages, reading the clean print of the menu. He was taken aback by the detailed descriptions of each dish and how upscale it seemed. He definitely felt that he didn't belong here as a person who either cooked comfort food or snagged take-out. From the few times he did go out to fancy restaurants with his parents for special occasions, he did know the basic etiquette of dining thankfully.

When Petra returned, with two glasses of water, she pulled out a pen and a small notepad, "Are you two ready, or would you like a few more minutes?"

Levi gestured to Eren, who flipped to the specific page, "I'll have the rotisserie chicken with mushroom risotto."

"And you, Levi?"

"Steak au poivre, medium."

"Alright, I'll get those out for you shortly. Any beverages?"

Both of them declined and Petra bustled off to put the orders in and attend to her other tables. Eren was admiring the homely décor and the tempting cakes and tarts in the refrigerated display case. 

Levi's gaze followed Eren's, and he was the first to speak up, "Petra makes all the desserts herself while her husband, Auruo, is the chef of the place."

"How did you meet Petra?"

"University. We had some general classes together, but she was a classics major. Later on, she realized that it wasn't a career for her and fell into her love of baking."

Eren nodded, but found he was at a loss for words. Yet his mind swam with questions. Why was Levi inviting him to lunch? And why such a fancy place? Was he expected to initiate conversation? He was so bad at that. He either came across as overly passionate and weird, or completely awkward and blasé in an effort to keep cool. But before he could search in the deep recesses of his mind for suitable conversation starters with his boss of all people, Levi was initiating conversation again.

"Oi, Eren... what do you think about Erwin practically throwing you in front of those pigs to be trampled on?"

"Eh?" Well I guess he supposed work was suitable, but he was surprised Levi wanted to talk about the meeting. "I... I wouldn't look at it that harshly..." His hand wound its way into his hair again. "He did what he had to, to test my abilities... Besides... you were pretty much the one to do all the fighting. I just provided the numbers..."

Levi clicked his tongue in disapproval as his gaze fixed on Eren, "Take credit for what you do - for the complete shit and the opposite."

"Of course, I'll do that."

Petra returned after, making friendly conversation with Eren, asking about his family and upbringing, then about his school, and how he liked the firm. He responded genuinely animated, telling Petra about his parents, and how he now lived with Mikasa and Armin. He told her about struggling in school to find a direction, at which Petra related, and about how he loved his job. Throughout, Levi remained quiet and looked bored to the untrained eye, but Eren recognized the absence of the set frown and the slightly raised brow of piqued interest.

Petra excused herself to bustle around the restaurant, and reappeared with their plates of food shortly after.  Eren's mouth watered at the mountain of french fries on Levi's plate, suddenly jealous that he didn't order the steak au poivre, whatever that meant. To Eren, it looked like steak and french fries, but then he saw the steaming chicken speckled with herbs and the creamy risotto. If Eren was hungry before, the enticement of food before him transformed him into a man who hadn't eaten in days. Thankfully, he managed to keep his mouth closed lest he drool over the table and ruin any potential proper table etiquette.

After Petra set the plates down with a beaming smile and a 'Bon appetit,' the two ate in comparative silence to the other tables with conversations filtering over to them. If anything, Eren noticed the way Levi ate the french fries with his fork, even cutting the longer ones with his knife as if it were an extension of his steak. He looked prim and proper, but also finicky and particular, much like the feline he was part of the time.

"What?" Levi met Eren's gaze.

"Oh, sorry!" Eren looked away hurriedly. "I never saw anyone eat french fries like that."

Levi maintained a blank expression aside from a slight furrow in his brow, as he reached over with his napkin in hand to dab at Eren's cheek. "You had some risotto on your face." His tone was flat, but Eren almost thought he could see mirth in Levi's eyes.

Never had Eren been so embarrassed. First he was staring at his boss eat french fries. Then his very boss was wiping food off his face. Not only was that not appropriate work-relationship behavior, but Eren thought that Levi was sure he was some uncultured swine.

Eren kept silent for the rest of the meal, still mortified over his faux-pas. He ate incredibly slowly to avoid any unnecessary food displacement from fork to mouth, and Levi only maintained the silence. When Eren excused himself to the restroom afterwards to check for anything else marring his face, he only found his slightly flushed skin. He took the opportunity to splash some water on his face and take a breath, waiting for the pinkish tint to fade. Nerves set aside, Eren returned to their table to find Levi signing for the check and a pristine white box with a red bow in place of his empty plate. He was left standing in front of his chair, staring at the box as if had taken his spot and left him without a seat.

"What's this?"

"Petra's triple-layer cheesecake. She insisted you try her specialty after the meal." Levi shrugged, "You can take it home, share it with your sister and your friend."

Eren immediately reached for his wallet, reaching in to grab some bills, "How much do I owe you for lunch and the cheesecake?"

Levi had risen, his hand on Eren's stopping the movement of removing bills from the leather, "Nothing. It's my treat."

Eren knew better of making a show of insisting on paying with his elders and superiors and backed off immediately. He figured Levi would be the type of person to be insulted if his generosity was flattened beneath an insistence to cover one's share. 

"Thank you, Levi."

\---------------

They left the restaurant shortly after and returned to their building. With only about a couple hours left, Eren returned to his desk to finish that last document he stopped yesterday for all the research for the meeting. He debated starting another one, but he wouldn't finish it before the day's end. That and every few minutes he found himself looking at the cheesecake box. It was a standard cake box, but it was wrapped in a large velvet ribbon as if it was a gift. It certainly didn't seem like the standard presentation of a cheesecake, but then again, Petra's bistro was a fancy place. He shot a glance at Levi's closed office door, a smile unconsciously spreading upon his face. Even if Levi claimed it was because Petra insisted, Eren still found the box reminding him of Levi's invitation to lunch and his generosity to treat.

When he left work, cheesecake in tow, Eren swiped a finger across his phone to unlock it - only to find a text from Mikasa. Nothing unusual, just that she had some free time and was cooking dinner. Once Eren was nestled in the driver's seat of his old car, he texted back that he was leaving work and bringing dessert home.

Upon arriving at home, Eren found Mikasa perched in front of the stove, maneuvering those long restaurant chopsticks as she tossed what smelled like stir fry. The soy sauce along with sweetness, and was that a hint of citrus... traveled across the open kitchen and living room all the way to the entryway where Eren put his bag down.

"Welcome home, Eren! Dinner will be ready in five minutes!"

"Thanks Mikasa!" Eren replied as he brought the cheesecake to put it in the fridge.

"What's that?"

"Um... triple layer cheesecake. Not entirely sure of the flavors of each layer though."

Mikasa nodded, "We can have it after dinner. Now go wash up. Dinner's just about ready."

"Sounds good to me!"

Eren wasted no time in heading for his room to remove his work clothes in favor of old broken-in jeans and a t-shirt. Work clothes tossed in the hamper, he washed his hands and jogged back to their kitchen where Mikasa was serving stir fry on the side of a dome of white rice.

"Smells delicious..."

Mikasa smiled at the compliment, "It's been a bit slow so I thought I'd make something to eat in." 

"Armin's also coming back Saturday. His tour this time was only a week."

Mikasa nodded as she put a plate in front of Eren and one for herself, "He went back to Europe, didn't he?"

Eren swallowed the horde of vegetables in his mouth, "Yeah, France this time I think."

"How was the big meeting?"

"Eh... I think it went okay..." He stopped himself to piece together what to say without upsetting Mikasa. He couldn't tell her he was on the firing line at war after all. She had a penchant for worrying. "They kept pushing for more funds to update their entire system." Eren went to push the dinner conversation into a different direction, “What about you? How’s studying?”

Dinner conversation continued along the typical subjects, about possible plans for the weekend for Armin’s return and about Mikasa’s studying until it was time to take out the cheesecake. Mikasa started the electric kettle to brew some herbal tea - both of them had to be up at a somewhat early hour for class and work respectively.

“So where’d you get the cheesecake?” Mikasa asked lightly as she prepared the tea bags and Eren was untying the ribbon off the cake box.

“Well… after the meeting, Levi invited me to go to lunch… and we went to this fancy bistro…” Eren found his gaze fixing on the box as his hands shook for a moment, somewhat apprehensive of Mikasa’s reaction, “...and he got me this.”

The room grew still and silent and Eren took the biggest risk of his life to glance at Mikasa. Her lips were parted, pupils widened, her entire body completely still, but Mikasa always had immense control over her body.

“Mikasa… that’s getting a bit creepy…”

“Sorry…” Mikasa glanced down with a pinkish tint to her cheeks in shame of her response, “Did he… did he… ask you out?”

“What! No!” Eren waved his hands in front of himself as if it would increase his negation. “...It was just a work thing. We were both starving after the meeting.”

“But… what about that?” She pointed to the loose ribbon now in Eren’s hand.

“Levi said Petra, Levi’s friend at the restaurant, insisted on me having it.”

Mikasa’s eyes narrowed suspiciously as if she thought Eren was just making excuses, “I don’t know…”

Eren knew that if anything, besides the weak work argument, Levi could have also been trying to one, either offer a gesture of gratitude for the tea errand, or two, try to keep Eren happy in order to keep his secret. Those two options offered more substantial reasons for everything, but Eren was probably secretly holding out that maybe, just maybe, Levi liked him. Most likely not as much as Eren was finding he liked Levi, but maybe something. After all, Levi didn’t kill him when he found out the secret, and in a remote area in the mountains, Eren was sure Levi could pass off any murder as an animal attack. After all… he was an animal part of the time.

Eren was slicing two pieces of cheesecake for them while Mikasa brought the tea to the table, humming softly, "I'm not sure if I would like him... but I think you should ask him out."

Sliding and stumbling on the linoleum, Eren hissed through clenched teeth, "Mikasa! I can't do that!"

"But Eren... nothing will come out of all this pining unless you do something. At least if he says no, you can cut it off before you go too deep."

But he knew it was too late for that. He was already in way too deep.

\---------------

Yes, Eren was far too deep in his infatuation with his boss. He had marked off the week of Levi's week off and couldn't help but look forward to it. He'd only seen Levi's cat form once, and he spent the majority of it in fear or asleep. Now that he knew better that cat Levi was still Levi and he'd keep all of his limbs and organs in their rightful places, a nervous excitement rushed through his veins. He didn't want to say anything, but Levi was fascinating no matter which form he was in, and Eren wanted to spend time with Levi when he was in his fur coat.

In the following weeks, Eren’s excitement somewhat spilled over, more so as the coming week grew closer. Levi had definitely noticed and wrote it off as unimportant until Eren spoke with him privately about taking the Tuesday off so that Eren could spend the first night without rushing back to work. Eren noticed the slightly widened gaze in response to his request, but it transformed into a guarded expression, as if he was suspicious of Eren’s overly excited state. When Levi reluctantly approved the request and what it meant, Eren was thrilled.

As Eren’s excitement reached a peak on the Monday Levi was absent, he plowed through work only to receive a text once he reached home to meet at Levi’s house at six if Eren was fully intent on tagging along.

Eren, headstrong and committed to everything he said, was set on going, and once he arrived home from work, packed a small bag and nabbed his sleeping bag for the odd camping trip. With Mikasa still out, he left his message of camping out for a night with a friend was left with Armin. 

The blond only gave a knowing smile, "It's Levi, isn't it?"

No use denying it, was there? Armin knew the second Eren let a blatant lie slip from those loose lips of his. Strangely enough, mother-mode Armin was ten times more frightening than a mother-mode Mikasa. And Eren really did not want to dig up the repressed memories buried deep within his head...

"Yeah... just don't tell Mikasa."

Armin gave a half-shrug, "I have a feeling she'll know anyway. You're not exactly difficult to read."

Eren felt his face grow hot, "It's hard enough having to face him knowing that."

"Just tell him. Worst that can happen is you get transferred. They wouldn't fire you over a crush."

But he didn't want to be transferred. And Levi's words offering a transfer or a recommendation to another company echoed in his mind. No, he couldn't risk it. He'd rather suffer his unrequited love in silence.

Eren took the opportunity to take his leave then if he desired to keep as much of his feelings and fantasies to himself. He wasn't picturing himself in a dress at their hypothetical wedding, no sir. But what if it was Levi wearing the dress- okay! He was not finishing that thought. He had places to be and a timely man with very sharp claws not to piss off.

\---------------

"Nervous?" Levi had a raised eyebrow as he stood in his doorway, inspecting Eren.

Should he lie? Actually, the better question was 'could' he lie. Eren hadn't really debunked that myth on whether Levi could smell lies or not.

"A bit." He answered sheepishly, hand reaching the back of his neck.

"You don't have to do this."

Something darkened in Levi's gaze, but Eren couldn't tell what it was. Guilt? But what would Levi feel guilty for?

After a moment's pause, Eren regained his words, "But I want to! ...if you'll allow me to that is."

"I wouldn't have texted you in the first place if I didn't permit you. Be out in a second."

Then the door shut.

\---------------

The drive up the mountains was reminiscent of the first one Eren took, only this time Levi knew of his presence. Although that brought up another issue in of itself. Aside from Levi’s vague response of being as catlike in human form as in cat form, Eren didn’t know just how much Levi knew or could sense. How good were his senses? If they were as keen as a cat’s, did that mean he heard almost everything on the work floor? And if so, did that mean that Levi knew of his presence the minute his car rolled to a stop, if not before, when he first followed him up here to the secluded mountains? Eren’s mind submersed in questions as he mechanically drove up the empty mountain trails, mindlessly following the red taillights like a moth to a flame.

Eren released an exhale as his car rolled to a stop and he turned the motor off, Levi’s silhouette in the distance still as if he were waiting for him. Without wasting another second, he scrambled out of the car, nabbing his small duffel and his sleeping bag from the passenger seat. He jogged up to the silhouette, finding Levi at the edge of the clearing.

"Do you want some... privacy for when you... you know?"

Levi only rolled his eyes, "You've seen it all before. Are you only becoming shy now?"

Eren flushed at the implication, "I didn't know you were going to strip then!"

For a second, Eren saw Levi's confusion, or what he thought was confusion, before it was hidden under that blank mask again. Without another word, Levi stepped further into the clearing, unbuttoning his shirt and tossing the material at Eren.

"Wha-?" He only offered a blank response as the discarded shirt landed on his head.

"The backpack," was Levi's terse response.

Eren could have sworn he was flushing as he caught sight of a half-naked Levi again. He may have self-indulged a little too much in the sight, before realizing the backpack sitting at his feet. He opened it and stuffed the shirt inside, briefly debating whether he wanted to maintain his distance and get the remainder of Levi's clothing thrown at him, or risk approaching to that model-like figure.

Eren only breathed out, "How are you not a model?"

"Draws too much attention. As does any athletic position."

"...but you already draw the attention on our floor."

"That has nothing to do with me."

"But... it has to beat paperwork!"

"The last thing I want is to have enough notoriety that I have stalkers following me and finding out shit they have no business knowing."

If that wasn't a bullet to the heart, Eren didn't know it. After all, that was pretty much the crime Eren committed when he followed Levi the first time.

Levi continued to undress as he continued, "Even I couldn't get away with killing that many people and trying to pass it off as a bear attack. They'd comb through these woods if that happened."

Eren dropped the backpack at Levi's feet and turned around. He could hear the rustle of clothing as Levi finished undressing. He tensed, waiting to hear the crack of bones and rustling of grass. Instead, he heard Levi's low voice.

"You can leave at any point."

"I know. I want to be here."

All Eren heard was a small exhale, then an inhale. Moments later cracking echoed in his ears, the flattening of grass from feet - paws - regaining footing, and a noise akin to a huff. Despite his curiosity, Eren kept facing away. At least until Levi rubbed his head against Eren's side as he slunk by, stopping only to impressively stretch his lean form.

Lurking beneath the sleek, glossy onyx coat were ropes of powerful muscles used to leap, run, and hunt. Eren had no doubt Levi could bring down a full grown healthy stag if he so wished. A human would stand no chance, with a rifle or not. Before a shot could be fired, they'd be at the mercy of notoriously sharp teeth and claws.

"Beautiful..." Eren breathed out in awe.

Levi's golden gaze met Eren's as he gave an indignant huff. The feline equivalent of his usual click of tongue, or so Eren guessed. And then the oversized cat took off darting through the trees, Eren dumbly staring after Levi before he followed in a light jog, everly thankful Levi's absences coincided with the moon's near fullness to light the way.

Eren slowed to a brisk walk and finally a questioning amble as his gaze flittered in various directions once he lost sight of his feline companion. He figured he'd be left behind, for he lacked the speed and agility of a cat. Sounds of a trickle of water led him to a stream, the moonlight illuminating its clarity.

With a frustrated groan, Eren dropped to rest aside the water, grumbling aloud, "Levi, you dick."

Speak of the devil, the words appeared to summon the cat himself. From somewhere up in the trees, the glossy black shadow leapt to the edge of the stream, landing right beside Eren on all four paws. Eren could have sworn he jumped up two feet in the air from the shock, but personal biases tended to over-exaggerate for dramatic effect. The golden gaze Levi fixed him with appeared to lighten into a cat's yellow in the moonlight, almost adding to the scrutinizing feel.

'It's just me, you brat. Who else is up here?' Eren could have sworn that was what he was thinking.

"Really. I meant it. You're a dick." Even as he said it, he was laughing at his own jumpiness. "You scared me."

His hands were already reaching for that silky fur, arms draping around the cat's shoulders in a makeshift hug from where he sat. Eren's head hung low from the descent of momentary adrenaline rush, cheek set on the fur that covered his chest. The heartbeat that raced within the feline ribcage was not unlike a human's, save for its speed.

'Is this what it's like to listen to Levi's heartbeat?'

That intrusive thought wound its way into his mind, and Eren had the humility to be embarrassed by his forward subconscious. Then again Levi didn't seem to mind. He neither squirmed nor retreated, but rather seemed to ease in Eren's loose hold. A low rumble began in the cat's chest, one that could be mistaken for a growl if it rose in crescendo. But the sound hung low, mere white noise if Eren wasn't so intent to dissect the meaning of the sound.

Was Levi... purring? But big cats were unable to purr. Eren was quick to do his research on cats after discovering Levi's special quirk, even if Levi was neither entirely cat nor human. Instead he ranged in a broad spectrum of both feline and man. In the body of a human, skimming beneath the surface lurked the cat in varying degrees. Consequently, this led to Eren's hypothesis that in feline form, the human within also was present in various degrees. Which led to the likely possibility that a very cat-like Levi cat inside and out could come out at any moment.

Eren released his hold on Levi, standing up and dusting his pants off, the skin on his palms missing that silky texture of Levi's fur coat. He stared into the ominous gaping maw that was the darkness from whence he came, hesitant to step forth. Levi seemed to catch on, gracefully rising to his feet and circling Eren once before padding into the gap of the trees.

Staring dumbly for but a moment, Eren hurried to follow the giant shadow that blended all too well into the night. Eren stumbled over roots in his rush, arms flying outward to catch his balance as he ran forward to avoid meeting hard ground. Instead he fell onto a bed of silky fur, hands spread to break his nonexistent fall. Eren found himself draped across Levi's back, Levi having stopped as he heard his clumsy human companion tromping through the woods blindly.

The living cushion beneath Eren emitted a low growl of discontent before shaking him back and forth in an attempt to throw him off. Eren's instinct was to grip on tighter which only seemed to piss off his temporary ride more.

"Hey!" Eren cried out in his distress, "Levi! Stop moving, and I can get off of you."

Rather than listen to Eren, Levi only wove forward between the trees in a display of his speed and dexterity. Eren was forced to grip on via the loose skin found on the back of any feline's neck. The moonlight helped minimally, because to Eren, everything looked like the same damn tree. He kept low, lest he wind up hitting branches from that endless line of clone-trees, at least until his not-so-courteous ride rose up with front paws braced against rough bark, the sudden change of position and gravity’s unkindly hand weighing down on the poor unsuspecting Eren. His hands lost their grip, and Eren landed promptly on his rump.

“Yeah, that’s nice,” sarcasm dripping from every word, Eren shot back in verbal retaliation as he stood. “Remind me to never use you as a mode of transport.”

Levi only huffed indignantly in reply, and Eren’s interest returned to the fact that they were back where they began their evening, at their pseudo-campsite. Eren busied himself with unrolling his sleeping bag and sitting on it while he rummaged through his duffel for a bottle of sugary sports drink and his choice of unhealthy snacks, a bag of potato chips and some beef jerky. After all, he still was a lazy, unhealthy teen within an adult body. Mikasa would confiscate his unhealthy fuel and lecture him on the importance of vitamins and a balanced diet. Veggie sticks, now that was a horror story for the non-existent campfire.

The pop of the bag of name-brand chips opening caught the attention of his feline companion, and if the image of a full-grown black leopard approaching with a visible swipe of tongue across sharp canines wasn’t intimidating, Eren would have thought something was seriously wrong with him. Intimidating as it was, Eren was logically trying to reason that this was Levi, and that Levi would never harm him. Well… not seriously anyway. He hoped.

Levi only reposed on his sleeping bag, neck stretching to peer over at the open bag of chips and sniff. Instinctively, Eren yanked the bag back, just as he did back in high school whenever his frenemy Jean would try to mooch off his beloved snacks. Jean just never understood how difficult it was to sneak nutrient-deficient junk food past a wary Mikasa. With Jean, a playful insult would be tossed, maybe some playful name-calling and roughhousing, but with Levi, a paw swiped at the bag as if it was a toy. Eren had to remember that Levi indeed had sharp claws, and if this game were to continue, he- or the chips- could be hurt.

“You can’t have chips. Aren’t cats supposed to be carnivores?” Eren scolded as if he was speaking to a child… or a pet.

The cat only cocked his head to the side as if he didn’t understand.

“They’re potato chips… Potatoes are from plants.”

Okay, now Eren could have sworn Levi rolled his eyes at him.

“...Fine. If you get sick, it’s not my fault.” Eren dropped his shoulders in defeat, further ripping open the bag so the wrapper became a makeshift plate of potato chips.

Now that the entirety of chips was available, Levi lost interest in the food and padded back to the same tree where he threw Eren off and leapt up to recline on a branch. Golden eyes kept a close watch on his query, even as Eren ate, confused at Levi’s strange behavior. Maybe it’s because the cat preferred more of a fight, a hunt for a meal, rather than an offering.

\---------------

Eren had fallen asleep under the stars that evening shortly after his snack of a meal. The moon became a natural dim light that did not upset his sleep, but offered something to focus his gaze on until slumber overtook him. From what Eren knew, Levi had remained in his tree, either asleep or awake keeping vigil on the surroundings, but either way, silent as if he were but a shadow hidden from the moon’s light beneath the cover of trees’ foliage. Eren fell asleep soundly, only waking to the day’s light when a weight pressed down on him.

Eren shot up, to find Levi - back in his human form and thankfully, or unfortunately, clothed - straddling him. “Levi, wh-what are you doing?”

“Waking you up. You sleep like the dead when you’re comfortable.”

Eren couldn’t say a word, wordlessly sputtering, to get something - anything - out. But how could he? Levi was close, too close for comfort, eyes still golden from his other form. On the surface, he looked as deadpan as ever, without a drop of human emotion, but Eren felt as if a tension release valve had opened, as if his night as a cat had been a therapeutic catharsis.

“What? Cat got your tongue?”

Oh, Levi did not understand at all. Not what Eren felt or what the mile a minute thoughts sprinting through his mind spelled out to his consciousness.

“Oh,” Levi casually breathed out. Oh so nonchalantly, maybe even teasingly, pushing their boundaries, closing the distance and pressing his mouth onto Eren’s. Eren, too numb to respond, could do nothing to fight as Levi pushed for entrance, his tongue twining with Eren’s before pulling away as if they did nothing but shake hands. “Looks like it did have your tongue after all…”

Eren felt as if he couldn’t breathe for minutes, his mind finally kicking back into gear and exhaling all of his lungs’ contents in one go. “Levi…”

Levi only stood, giving Eren the opportunity to crawl out of his cushy sleeping bag. How unrefined was that… But then again it wasn’t exactly the definition of refinement to stick your tongue in someone’s mouth. Not that Eren minded, because if anything, he’d love to spend the better part of an evening doing that with Levi. Levi’s gaze didn’t meet Eren’s, instead rising to the sky to watch a bird fly over their clearing.

“Levi…” Eren only repeated, and Levi’s gaze dropped from above to meet his own. “I… I don’t know what your intention was in doing that. But…”

“I meant it, Eren.” 

“What?”

“I meant it. That, and that I can recommend a transfer for you if you want to call it quits now.”

“What- no, I don’t want to transfer.”

“I can leave if that’s what you prefer.”

“No, I don’t want that either!” Eren’s hands clenched into fists as his voice rose in volume. He took a breath, trying to stabilize any quiver in volume or tone, “I don’t want to leave, and I don’t want you to leave. I get that you’re not human or cat or whatever, and it can cause danger for you if other people find out. If you don’t like me knowing and want me gone, then fine. But don’t do it for my sake... Just don’t.”

“Fine.” Levi’s eyes closed before opening to reveal his human eye color, a steely greyish blue. “I’ll stop.”

“Thank you.” Eren released a sigh of relief. “I… like working with you, and I like spending time with you. Human, cat, or anywhere in between.”

Levi’s gaze zeroed in on Eren, eyes slightly widened in surprise, “I will never be entirely like your kind, Eren. No matter how much I try, I can, at best, be a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

Eren could only smile in return, “But that’s what makes you an anomaly in the sea of sheep. Sometimes it’s not always best to follow the crowd.”

  
And then, if Eren was seeing things correctly, Levi almost looked… melancholy, his words an echo for Eren’s future drive down the mountain, “Even sheep can rise up against a wolf in numbers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading~
> 
> Any comments and criticisms are welcome. I would love to be able to improve my writing style (after having it beaten out of me via essays and such).

**Author's Note:**

> Just a few notes.
> 
> Lycanthropy is a real thing. I've never heard of anyone having it... so I imagine it's quite rare, but it has to do with hallucinations and people believing their transformations.
> 
> Bringing something to eat when going to someone's house is one thing my mom taught me to do. (It's a Japanese, or at least a Japanese American thing.)
> 
> If you don't recognize _The Island of Doctor Moreau_ , it's a novel by HG Wells and the summary was briefly given by Levi. It's a short novel and definitely worth a read.
> 
> I've been working on the second chapter, but I honestly don't know how long it'll take since I have papers and finals coming up soon. And any comments and criticisms are welcome! I definitely need it since I'm new in Shingeki no Kyojin fanfic writing. 
> 
> Cheers!


End file.
